After an overnight stay at Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola in Florida, the NASA astronaut was released and returned to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston Saturday. The crew member is in good health and will resume normal post-flight reconditioning with other crew members.
As part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission, the astronaut was one of four crewmates who safely splashed down aboard their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft near Pensacola on Oct. 25. The crew members completed a 235-day mission, 232 days of which were spent aboard the International Space Station conducting scientific research.
To protect the crew member’s medical privacy, specific details on the individual’s condition and identity will not be shared.
NASA Provides Update on Agency’s SpaceX Crew-8 Health
After safely splashing down on Earth as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission Friday, a NASA astronaut experienced a medical issue. NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin were flown together to Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola in Florida.
After medical evaluation at the hospital, three of the crew members departed Pensacola and have arrived at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The one astronaut who remains at Ascension is in stable condition under observation as a precautionary measure. To protect the crew member’s medical privacy, specific details on the individual’s condition or identity will not be shared.
During its return to Earth, the SpaceX Dragon executed a normal entry and splashdown. Recovery of the crew and the spacecraft was without incident. During routine medical assessments on the recovery ship, the additional evaluation of the crew members was requested out of an abundance of caution.
We’re grateful to Ascension Sacred Heart for its support during this time, and we are proud of our team for its quick action to ensure the safety of our crew members.
The Crew-8 crew members splashed down aboard their Dragon spacecraft near Pensacola, Florida, to complete a 235-day mission, 232 days of which were spent aboard the International Space Station conducting scientific research.
NASA will provide additional information as it becomes available.
NASA Provides Agency’s SpaceX Crew-8 Mission Update
The following is attributed to Cheryl Warner, news chief, NASA’s Office of Communications:
“Following NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission’s safe splashdown and recovery off Florida’s coast early Friday morning, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin were taken to a local medical facility for additional evaluation. The crew exited the Dragon spacecraft onto a recovery ship for standard post-flight medical evaluations. Out of an abundance of caution, all crew members were flown to the facility together. NASA will provide additional information as it becomes available.”
Crew-8 Commander Matthew Dominick, Pilot Mike Barratt, and Mission Specialists Jeanette Epps and Alexander Grebenkin are orbiting Earth today inside Endeavour nearing the end of a seven-and-a-half-month mission. The Commercial Crew quartet is targeting a splashdown off the coast of Florida at 3:29 a.m. EDT on Friday that will be streamed live on NASA+ beginning at 2:15 a.m. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
Meanwhile, four NASA astronauts aboard the station slept in on Thursday following their support of the departed Crew-8 mission. Commander Suni Williams along with Flight Engineers Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague, and Don Pettit were on shift late Wednesday monitoring systems when Dragon undocked at 5:05 p.m. from the Harmony module’s space-facing port. The quartet was back to work on Thursday working on standard maintenance duties and research tasks.
Williams spent her shift in the Quest airlock cleaning cooling loops on a spacesuit and checking the suit’s other components. Pettit inspected fire extinguishers and breathing masks throughout the station’s U.S. segment ensuring they were in good operating condition.
Human research and technology studies were on the science portion of the schedule informing researchers how to successfully live and work in space long-term. Hague collected his saliva and urine samples for stowage in a science freezer and later analysis to understand microgravity’s effect on the human body. Wilmore set up the Sphere Cam-2 and filmed activities in the Destiny laboratory module in ultra-high resolution testing its ability to provide highly detailed mission imagery on future missions.
The three Roscosmos cosmonauts aboard the station worked a full shift on Thursday focusing on their complement of lab upkeep and space research. Three-time station visitor Alexey Ovchinin spent Thursday servicing life support hardware in the Zvezda service module. Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner photographed points on Earth testing a technique to determine the space station’s position in orbit, while first-time space flyer Aleksandr Gorbunov worked on orbital plumbing and labeled the contents of medical cabinets.
NASA and SpaceX now are targeting no earlier than Monday, Nov. 4 for the launch of the agency’s SpaceX 31st commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station due to ongoing operations including Crew-9 port relocation and spacecraft integration for the cargo flight.
The company’s Dragon spacecraft will liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and deliver food, supplies, and science investigations to the orbiting laboratory.
NASA will provide additional updates and information on launch and docking when available.
Dragon Undocks from Station, Crew-8 Heads Toward Earth
The SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft is pictured beyond the Candarm2 robotic arm moments after undocking from the Harmony module with four Crew-8 members. Credit: NASA TV
At 5:05 p.m. EDT, NASA astronauts Matt Dominick, Mike Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin undocked from the forward-facing port of International Space Station’s Harmony module aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.
NASA’s return coverage continues with real-time, audio only commentary, and full coverage will resume at the start of the splashdown broadcast. The audio feed will remain available, including astronaut conversations with mission control, in addition to a live video feed from the orbiting laboratory.
NASA’s coverage will resume at 2:15 a.m. Friday, Oct. 25, on NASA+ and the agency’s website until Dragon splashes down at approximately 3:29 a.m. off the coast of Florida, and Crew-8 members are safely recovered. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
